Jean Pacquement
Since August 2021 | 36 Contributions
I am a French and Swiss citizen, born in Saigon in 1963, and I have been an ‘agrégé de grammaire’ since 1992. I had actually studied Latin and Greek at the university level, as well as Indian studies. As a result, in order to take the competitive exam for this position in the French educational system, I chose Greek and Latin linguistics as my major.
Later on, rather than focusing on Indo-European comparative linguistics, I studied modern Indo-Aryan languages with Charlotte Vaudeville, who taught me Braj and Awadhi. I could then write a dissertation on meteorological lexical items and weather aphorisms of Northern India. Nalini Balbir, who was my advisor, helped me rewrite my dissertation in the form of an article (Pacquement 1989-90).
From 1989 to 1998, I was based at the Deccan College, Pune (India), where I was encouraged by my professors, especially François Grimal and Françoise Mallison, to continue focusing on modern Indo-Aryan languages, especially Marathi, from the point of view of dialectology, ethnolinguistics, and historical linguistics (Pacquement 1994-1995, 1996, 1996-1997, 2000). Various aspects of Marathi grammar, the history of Maharashtra, and daily life in that region of India are discussed in a book published with Aparna Kshirsagar (Kshirsagar and Pacquement 1999). Some of my fieldwork experiences and interactions are featured in a first-person account that summarizes my years of research in India (Pacquement 2001).
Since 2002, I have lived in Thailand and Laos, where I was affiliated with various universities, including Mahasarakham University, Naresuan University, Roi Et Rajabhat University (in Thailand), and Savannakhet University (in Laos). My fieldwork in Southeast Asia, often conducted with Phoutphouthong Onvongsa, Sipaseuth Phongphanith, or Vanh Thongmany (among others), as well as my contributions (e.g., Pacquement 2011, 2018, 2022; Pacquement and Phongphanith 2012, 2014) and conference presentations are primarily concerned with Tai languages: Phu Thai (Laos and Thailand), Lao (Laos and Thailand), Nyo (Thailand), Saek (Laos and Thailand), Tai Daeng (Laos and Vietnam), Tai Meuay (Laos), Tai Mène (Laos), Tai Yo (Vietnam), and Phuan (Laos).
Books authored
- (with Aparna Kshirsagar) Parlons marathi: Langue, histoire et vie quotidienne du pays marathe. Paris: L’Harmattan.
- (with Aparna Kshirsagar) Hindi Express. Paris: Les éditions du dauphin.
- (with Sipaseuth Phongphanith) Lao Express. Paris: Les éditions du dauphin.
Papers 1989–1990. Aphorismes météorologiques en Inde du Nord. Bulletin d’études indiennes 7–8:185–238. 1994–1995. The rains of the year (the monsoon and unseasonal rain): A semantic study of rain in relation to the calendar. Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute 54–55:223–233. 1996. À propos de la représentation de l’espace : l’orientation et les vents dans le Maharashtra. Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient 83:35–64. 1996–1997. Terms for directions (दिशा) and representation of space in Maharashtra. Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute 56–57:249–255. 2000. Linguistique historique et histoire de la langue. Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient 87.2:741–763. 2001. Enquêtes linguistiques dans le pays marathe. Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient 88:299–305. 2011. About some linguistic variations in Phu Tai. Journal of Mekong Societies 7.1:17–38. 2012. (with Sipaseuth Phongphanith) Multilinguisme, plurilinguisme et compétence linguistique chez les Phu Thaï du centre du Laos et du nord-est de la Thaïlande: le cas des étudiants phu thaï de l’Université de Savannakhet. Synergies Pays Riverains du Mékong 4:129–139. 2018. The Nyo language spoken at Kut Kho Kan Village (Loeng Nok Tha District, Yasothon Province): A language documentation research at Roi Et Rajabhat University. Sikkha Journal of Education 5.2:73–84. 2021. (with Paul Sidwell & Mathias Jenny) French contributions to the study of Mainland Southeast Asian languages and linguistics. In Paul Sidwell & Mathias Jenny (eds.), The languages and linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia: A comprehensive guide, 149–161. Walter de Gruyter: Berlin/Boston. 2022. The Tai Meuay of Bolikhamxay Province (Laos), their ethnonym, and their language. In Mark Alves & Paul Sidwell (eds.), Papers from the 30th meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (2021), 33–55. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.